The present invention relates to personal communication devices, and more particularly, to a vibrational transducer or vibrating alarm for use with personal communication devices.
Vibrating alarms for use with personal communication devices are well known in the art. Many of these alarms comprise conventional motors having an eccentric weight attached to the rotor shaft. Accordingly, when the motor is activated, the rotation of the rotor shaft and corresponding rotation of the eccentric weight causes vibration within the personal communication device that is detected by the holder of the device.
A disadvantage with conventional eccentric weight motors is that they are not specifically designed for mass production. In particular, several manual labor steps are required to assemble the device. For example, the most popular conventional vibrating motors require three coils, each of which must be soldered to the associated leads by manual labor.
Additional disadvantages with conventional vibrating motors is that they are not surface mountable, i.e., that they are not specifically adapted to be surface mounted onto a circuit board of a personal communication device. For example, the most popular conventional vibrating motors require a specialized bracket which must first be mounted to the personal communication device, a male connector component which must be attached to the ends of the motor's lead wires, and a corresponding female connector which is mounted to the communication device's circuit board. First, the bracket must be mounted within the communication device, then the female connector is mounted to the circuit board, then the male connector is coupled to the wires of the motor, and finally, in an assembly process, the motor is installed into the bracket and the female and male connectors are mated.
Accordingly, a need exists for a vibrating alarm for use with a personal communication device which substantially reduces manual assembly requirements, which is specifically designed to be surface mounted onto a printed circuit board of a personal communication device, and which minimizes the energy requirements for operating the device.